Dumb question: if Obamacare is so wonderful, why do we need to pay millions to sell the concept of it? This is from Phil Galewitz writing at Kaiser Health News:
Top federal health officials are in talks with the National Football League to promote the health law’s insurance marketplaces that begin enrolling people Oct 1.
Sebelius (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images).
"The NFL is enthusiastically engaged … and they see health promotion as a good thing for them and for the country," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said during a media briefing Monday.
Sebelius said the administration is also talking to other major sports franchises about improving public awareness of the Obamacare online insurance exchanges, which are a critical way the federal health law expands insurance coverage. ...
"We are having active discussions with a variety of sports affiliates with paid advertising and partnerships," Sebelius said.
The NFL and other professional sports organizations such as the National Basketball League and Major League Soccer are obvious places for the federal government to target young men to sign up for coverage, Sebelius said. The administration needs to find millions of young and healthy people to help balance out its insurance risk pool to make up for the older and sicker people who are expected to sign up. In 2014, insurers will no longer be able to turn people away or charge higher rates to people with pre-existing health conditions....
Politico last week reported the administration was in talks with the NBA to help promote Obamacare....
